Anita Boose and Kaitlynn Vassalle
Making Broken Things Beautiful
story by EMILY BURGESS photos by SUSAN DELOACH
Whimsical. It’s the only way to describe it. Everywhere you turn, your eyes meet display after display, impeccably styled with a bohemian, rustic vibe. It feels like you stepped into the pages of a home magazine or into the popular feeds of well-known home and style Instagrammers. You won’t walk away without a greeting and more than likely will feel like family before your feet step back outside. Add a coffee bar to the mix and it may feel like you should just move in. These are the markings of Urban Nest a local boutique that boasts “fun and unique” home décor, local artistry, clothing and so much more.
It’s a story we all love to hear. Success founded out of struggle. Greatness achieved through ingenuity and hard work. It’s the story of Anita Boose and Kaitlynn Vassalle, the owners and creators of Urban Nest and their family.
Their story starts years and years before the boutique would be birthed into existence. As a child, Anita was drawn to discarded things. Growing up, she was the oldest of seven kids in a family that was extremely poor. She was homeschooled on and off and even as a child her passion was for design.
“It was feast or famine. My dad was a roofer. In the winter there were days we lived on eggs and rice because there was nothing. But, I always had this desire to create and decorate, even when I was little,” said Anita.
She carried this desire into her marriage when things were still tight. She was a genius at stretching a dollar and found inspiration from things that others cast off. These discarded and rejected pieces became her masterpieces and it was clear from the beginning that she had a rare knack for making worthless things valuable.
“Instead of just going and purchasing something, I prefer to create it. And I carried that on even when we were more financially stable,” Anita said.
As a child, Kaitlynn was always found playing store or restaurant instead of with baby dolls or Barbie’s. It was clear from even a young age, that her passion was for business and her entrepreneurial spirit dominated. What seemed like a farfetched dream of owning a store or coffee shop became reality when her business savvy found a way to successfully combine the two into one.
“I always loved learning all the nitty gritty details of owning a business and was an entrepreneur from a very young age,” Kaitlynn said. “ What’s even better is I get to do it every day with my best friend, my mom.”
Anita thrives out of putting her stamp on her home and seeks to add character to what could otherwise be seen as a spec-house made in the same cookie-cutter style as thousands of others. She joyously remembers as a child, having “dates” to Lowe’s with her sister and dad. While he shopped for things he needed, she would pick out and design a home. She dreamed of design even from a young age.
When their oldest daughter, Kaitlynn got married and their son moved back to Ohio, Anita and her husband, Ken decided to buy a much smaller house. This left Anita with an abundance of furniture that she had painted, distressed, or stained, that she needed to sell. Kaitlynn suggested listing it on the local FaceBook marketplaces and the frenzy for Anita’s pieces began.
With a following of women in Beaufort waiting for Anita to list more original pieces, it was suggested to Kaitlynn by a friend that they consider opening a shop together. Two mother-daughter duos with a keen eye for style and design, creating a booth style shop open just a couple days a week. Anita immediately said “no,” but with Kaitlynn’s encouragement and entrepreneurial skills, they moved forward.
After signing a lease on a small space on Ribaut Road, adjacent to The Uniform Store, the other mother-daughter pair backed out leaving them both with feelings of stress and anxiety about moving forward.
On August 11, 2015, Urban Nest was opened. The following that Anita gained through her social media listings and sales found the new endeavor enchanting and Anita’s articulate staging of furniture on the roadside in front of the store, brought new patrons in daily.
“It was tiny in there. We started praying, Lord if you want this to keep going you’ll make it happen whether it’s through The Uniform Store closing down or another avenue. Of course, we weren’t praying for them to close, but just praying for a way to make this work,” said Anita.
One year after opening their doors, the owner of The Uniform Store came to Anita and Kaitlynn and told them she was done and was closing up. In disbelief and with great anxiety, they leased the entire building out to continue to grow Urban Nest.
The success of the store was apparent. Anita would diligently and in true perfectionist form, get a display meticulously staged and within hours a piece would be purchased and she was back to rearranging and staging. The mother-daughter pair had a desire to sell more than Anita’s designs and Kaitlynn’s selection of unique merchandise. They saw an opportunity to give an avenue of exposure for other local designers and makers.
Every addition of a new product by a local artist came about organically through Anita and Kaitlynn finding a product they loved and by chance meeting the artisan and insisting that they allow their products to be sold at Urban Nest. This is part of what makes this store unique and special, the desire for it to be about more than them.
The atmosphere in Urban Nest is more than just the decor. It’s a feeling of belonging that brings customers back time and time again. Patrons were often spending hours on end inside just sharing life with the family. It was then suggested that all that was missing was a good cup of coffee.
“A light bulb went off for me and my dreamer mentality started working overtime until I created our signature drinks for the coffee shop and we launched the Urban Brew which has been more successful than I ever thought it could,” Kaitlynn said.
In February 2019, they extended their operating space into Anita’s workroom, creating a comfortable lounge area to encourage those enjoying coffee to stay and sit.
It was clear from the beginning, that although Anita was the creative mind, the entire family played a role in making the store what it is. Ken brings his handy-man skills to the table, making shelves for merchandise, while Kaitlynn mans the business, marketing, and coffee shop side of things. Her husband, Michael, is a constant encourager and helps with some heavy lifting behind the scenes. Anita and Ken’s daughter Abby recently joined the staff as a barista in the coffee bar and Kaitlynn’s two-year old daughter Luna has been dubbed “the shop baby” since birth. This dynamic is what makes Urban Nest and all that they do so special. Their heart is not for profit and gain, but for people and their stories.
“We think people like the family aspect. Our heart is that people come in and feel loved and welcomed. They feel like they can talk to us. And they do. We want people to always come in and it not just be a store,” said Anita.
The storefront was just the beginning. As it has grown, Anita’s design and aesthetic has become infamous throughout the area. From the head organizers of the Valentine’s Ball asking her to do the stage last year, to staging homes for local realty groups, the particular perspective on design brought to the rooms and homes by the Urban Nest team continues to become highly sought after.
Their most recent venture, a flip house off of Little Capers Road on Lady’s Island. Anita’s childhood dates with her father, dreaming up her future home, became a reality as she gets the opportunity to design homes and put her stamp on a house in a tangible way. This is just the start as Anita and Kaitlynn plan to team up with local general contractor, David Summerall and Keller Williams Realty to continue to design flip homes and stage houses for show that will all be “Urban Nest” stamped.
Despite all of these incredible outside opportunities, the family still has big plans and dreams for Urban Nest. These plans include expanding out back of their current building by adding a greenhouse and garden center, hoping to also create another sit-down, stay awhile set-up with bistro tables by next spring. With their ability to find a use for discarded things, and with great business acumen, they have managed to remain debt-free.
“Our number one most important goal is to be a lighthouse. To help out how we can. If we are going to have this business, we want it to glorify God. When people come in and see that we are genuine, I think people appreciate that,” Anita and Kaitlynn agreed.
Their faith is what drives them day in and day out, no question. It is the backbone of their business and what they hope exudes out of all they do. Their testimony of God’s grace in their lives mirrors their life’s work, making broken things beautiful.
